Dive Brief:
- Apartment-style accommodations provider StayApt Suites signed a franchise agreement with developer Capstone Stay to build five new hotel locations across “key” Midwest markets, according to a Friday release.
- The hotels in Rossford, Ohio; Evansville, Indiana; Gardner, Kansas; and Wentzville and Liberty, Missouri, will offer StayApt Suites’ signature 500-plus-square-foot suite that is “designed to feel residential” with a dedicated living room, full kitchen and separate bedroom.
- On the heels of several recent openings, the franchise agreement expands StayApt Suites’ footprint with a faster-to-market construction approach, as the brand grows in the competitive apartment-style hotel sector.
Dive Insight:
StayApt Suites’ partnership with Capstone Stay will help the accommodations provider bring its hotels to new markets, offering guests “the comfort and convenience they desire, while delivering a streamlined development process for our franchise partners,” according to StayApt Suites CEO Gary DeLapp.
Capstone Stay uses a modular construction approach, which means components of the hotel will be manufactured off-site within a factory and then assembled on-site later.
The construction approach allows for “faster development timelines and more sustainable building practices,” according to StayApt Suites, though the firm did not disclose when the new hotels are slated to open.
Speed to open is a top priority for owners across the hotel industry, as it helps drive faster returns, hospitality pros previously shared with Hotel Dive.
Beyond apartment-style rooms, the new StayApt Suites hotels will offer an enclosed outdoor courtyard with a built-in grill station and fire pit. The properties will also have on-site fitness and laundry facilities and digital keys for contactless check-in.
Expanding StayApt Suites’ footprint, the hotels come on the heels of several other brand openings in recent months, including multiple hotels across Georgia. The company, which launched in January 2020, is slated to have 40 open hotels by April.
Other apartment-style hotels to open in recent months include Reside Navy Yard and Reside NoMa in Washington, D.C., part of Reside’s partnership with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
Also in Washington D.C., Placemakr debuted a pop-up hotel at luxury apartment complex The Byron earlier this month. Mint House, meanwhile, recently opened an “aparthotel” in Madison, Wisconsin, to capitalize on college-town demand.
